Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom Review

Being I am an existing Samsung phone user, I was super excited when I had the opportunity to review the new Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom.

When the phone, I mean camera, I mean both arrived, I was not disappointed. If you are not familiar with the Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom, then allow me to introduce you to this awesome camera that just happens to be a fully-fledged cell phone as well.

Let me start off by saying that this is really an amazing piece of technology, but from the very beginning I would like to point out that I saw this as more of camera than a cell phone. As a camera, this is definitely the best point and shoot camera I have ever used as it allows you the freedom to use it on a professional and beginner level.

The Phone

As a phone, the Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom is a fully functional Samsung Galaxy S4 with all familiar and powerful functions. It’s quite an attractive looking phone, so there was no complaints there. It works perfectly, but something worth noting is that there is a permanent lens attached to the phone, making the shape of the phone slightly awkward. Given there is a camera and lens attached the phone, I had this underlying fear of dropping this phone more than I would my normal phone as the last thing I wanted to see was the camera lens smashed on the floor.

Also, my husband has an official Samsung car dock for his Galaxy S3 (which fits a standard S4) and there is no way this phone would fit the universal attachment.

The Camera

Now for the good part! I would seriously consider buying the zoom just for the camera. In a nutshell, it is simply brilliant. I am not going to get into the technical nitty gritty, but what I will tell you is that this camera is able to deal with every situation we threw at it.  From capturing my son jumping into the pool on a frame-by-frame basis to recording full HD movies of my other sons 2nd birthday, the S4 Zoom did it perfectly. We even tested it as a product shot camera in a light box we use for other ventures we are involved in and it really did the job well. In fact it was easier to get the shot that it would be on the dedicated DSLR camera we have for that purpose. Just change the exposure, see what you going to get in a live preview and snap – you got it!

Sharing

This is where the phone /camera excels. The main advantage here is that if you have a sim card in the phone and have data available, either through your provider or via Wifi, you can instantly share photos and / or movies you have taken to Dropbox, Google Drive, Facebook etc all instantly and in high definition. In addition, you have access to all the camera apps on the Google play store and you always know that you are running the latest and greatest in image processing software.

So instead of being “limited” by buying a standard digital camera your have a world apps and setting to play with.

Summary

I would have no problem recommending this phone or having one permanently in my bag. The fact that there is a camera and phone together makes for less searching and packing when going on a trip where you need both camera and phone. It works exceptionally well and although it is a little chunky, I would still consider having one anyday.